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A Contribution to the Life History of Bucephalus longicornutus (Manter, 1954)

Abstract

Abstract

The sporocyst, cercaria, metacercaria and adult of Bucephalus longicornutus (Manter, 1954) (synonym: Alcicornis longicornutus Manter, 1954) are described. No redial generation occurs in the life history. Attempts to obtain miracidia from the eggs of experimentally induced adults were unsuccessful.

Sporocysts were recovered from the visceral mass, gills and pericardium of the New Zealand mud-oyster, Ostrea lutaria Hutton, 1873. These give rise to free-living cercariae, liberation of which could be up to 10,000 per oyster per day, but was intermittent. Behaviour of the cercaria, including attachment, penetration and encystment, is described. Encysted metacercariae, mature after 75–80 days, were recovered from the fin web, muscles, orbit and branchial chamber of experimentally infected specimens of Tripterygion sp. and Acanthoclinus quadridactylus (Forster). Adult flukes were recovered from the intestine of Scorpaena cardinalis Richardson, 35 days after feeding mature metacercariae, and from the intestine and pyloric caeca of Kathetostoma giganteum Haast, the definitive host.

All previous reports of bucephalid cercariae are listed. Reference is made to some cercariae which have been incorrectly assigned to adult genera. Possible taxonomic implications arising from variations found in adult fluke characters are discussed.